heppnerguy

It is actually a white finish and dark finished MDF board to so I could get the two colored bowl effect I was after. My problem is that when I am using a multi colored effect on the bowl, I think it would be a lot nicer looking if those colors continues on the outside of my bowl as well. Using MDF that is only finished on the top of the board, means I am unable to enjoy that same effect carried on to the outside of the bowl. This would also be the same with BB Birch as well or even a ply with any other finish on the surface of it, because as you cut the piece, you still only get whatever the middle ply content is. I hope that makes sense to you. If I was cutting a bowl from BB Ply and not trying to change the color of the wood on the inside of the bowl, then I too would be happy with the results, as you are explaining to me in your question Dick heppnerguy

I grew up in Portland, Oregon and was a total city boy. I remained living in that area until 2002 when my wife and I moved to a small town in Eastern Oregon. I was a little reluctant to the idea of being so far from all the conveniences I was used to having whenever I needed some supplies for a project I was working on or just having a lot of choices for eating out, etc. What I quickly learned from Heppner, was the conveniences and surrounding beauty that was located a short distance from where we lived, (unlike the dessert and lack of the beautiful trees and closeness to the Pacific Ocean), was not what was really important in life, rather it is community that counts. The people in small towns depend on one another for support, caring, help in time of need. It is like going back a century ago where everyone knows each other and most of the families that live around them. People trust people, because they actually know them. Heppner was this way. People left the keys in their vehicles because it was convenient. I remember going on vacation for a couple of weeks and the house was left unlocked the extra car still had the keys in the ignition. This is what rural life is like. If someone has a family member that is stricken with bad health , like cancer, the community jumps into action and puts on a fund raiser where other donate items for auction and a big meal where all the profits go to the family to help with medical care or whatever they need it for. That is only a small part of little town mentality. I totally understand that. I know why you would rather drive a few miles to get groceries or go to a doctor appointment. The most beautiful thing is YOUR COMMUNITY. Dick heppnerguy

Jerry, I hope you didn't see my remarks as a correction toward you. I was just my way of saying this is a very Special piece, indeed. Because the city accepted it in that manner and was honored to make a permanent place to hang it for all to reflect on it. I agree with you on being humble and I too lean that direction. I often get remarks here about being to hard on myself. It is for that very reason. I also do not care much for 'bragging rights' but would rather just see something like " my latest work" to be the heading. This is not my site and I do not wish to try and change the wonderful and hard work of Travis. I appreciate the time, care and efforts of Travis way too much to try and put my own personal ideas in his way. Why my statement on your title came to mind, is we had a man in Heppner, where I lived before my recent move to Arizona, that served on the city council there. He also was an officer in the Army and worked on a highly classified position in military intelligence. This man came down with Parkinson disease and had to quit his city position. The military asked him to come back and help them with his knowledge on something that this man could not share with others. I had such an admiration for this man that I took it upon myself to make him an intarsia plaque of a soldier saluting at the tomb of the unknown soldier. I found out later that he decided it was too important for him to have on a personal basis and gave it to the city hall to hang on the wall there for all to remember the soldiers who gave there lives for all of us. I was very humbled by this. He told my wife that he thought it was too fitting not to give it a public place for all to see. I was only trying to say, in my seemingly crazy way, that I saw your piece in the same light that this fellow councilman of Heppner viewed the plaque I gave to him. I am sorry if I offended you in any way, my intent was only to show my admiration for your work and the honorable way you choose to share your talent Dick heppnerguy

Ain't scrolling fun when you can come up with something that will delight the receiver more than you can even imagine? Nice idea and cool piece. Way to go girl. Dick heppnerguy

Not just an ordinary shelf but one that will catch everyone's eye and bring about a lot of comments and interests in your beautiful work. Hey they might just make some really special Christmas gifts for family and friends Dick heppnerguy

Jerry not only is the story quite interesting and the court house cutting with the American flag an outstanding reminder to the people in Marshalltown and the people of Iowa of the destruction that was dealt to them by the tornado, but I see only one thing is all of this that is false. Are you asking yourself, "how could Dick know that I have stated something falsely, when he probably has never even seen or possible never heard of Marshalltown ?" If you are, then you are correct that I have never even heard of Marshalltown, Iowa until just now. But the falsehood still remains and that is in your title to this post when you said , "Nothing Special". Obviously this piece is very meaningful and special to all the town's people and it has become a reminder to all who view it. Thanks for your understanding of the importance of finding a way to honor part of our National history with your work. Dick heppnerguy

Looks great... She should really love this one.. great job. Thanks for giving us an opportunity to view it Dick heppnerguy

Very nice work. Looks like you have mastered the portrait making. Your work is really fun and enjoyable to view Dick heppnerguy

Would be fun to see a photo of your small community.. Must be a pleasant place to live. How for to shopping ? Dick heppnerguy

I never even glued it together, let alone apply any finish to it. It was way too disappointing to waste my time Dick heppnerguy

interesting piece. It sort of tells a story without words. that is what we are looking for in art, I believe. Great job on cutting and framing it. Dick heppnerguy

You will be thought about every Christmas as these once again come out of the boxes. Really cool little pieces Dick heppnerguy

these are such cherished and unique gifts. I am sure it will be loved for a long, long time. Nice job on both Mahendra and you Dick heppnerguy

Jason.. I love your patterns. Glad you came here to join our family. There are a lot of really friendly people here to chat with, exchange ideas with or just enjoy getting to know one another better. Dick hepppnerguy

Welcome to our world wide family. I think you will find that the more you post and participate here, the faster you will also feel like part of our family. You can not find friendlier or sharing people than are right here on this sight. Feel free to explore all the areas of this sight and enjoy your new adventure in wood fun. So from sunny and warm Southern Arizona, I bid you a big WELCOME Dick heppnerguy

As you can see, by using this kind of wood, the outside has no character. However is one used natural wood the outside would have the same eye appeal as the inside. that is just my take on it Dick heppnerguy

The pattern is from Steve Good

I like this one also but it needs to be done with natural woods as the beauty of this basket will then be magnified on the outside of the basket. much more appealing Dick heppnerguy

Yesterday when I posted the items from my day in the shop and the experiments with the baskets, I forgot to add this one. I particularly fond this one to point out to me the problem with using MDF for baskets, as the outside was again left uncolorful and I found it took away from what could have otherwise been a rather nice piece. I understood from this that when this item was sitting on a desk, the eye would first be attracted to it by the outside and not the inside of the piece. Now that I understand this better, I believe I will be way more satisfied with the results of this kind of scroll items. I also added a simple inside cut to help bring a little more interest to the piece. Dick heppnerguy

I love your experimenting with the different colored finishes. It adds so much variety with no really extra expense or time involved. Dick heppnerguy

When I see a pattern with a lot of fret work, I always think of you and know it would be your pattern of choice Dick heppnerguy

Jeff, this is a wonderful pattern and you sure did it justice. I am glad you are not afraid of the spiral blades as they certainly add to getting delicate cuts to come out without them breaking while you are cutting them. I too have been using spirals more and that added time with them really pays off for this kind of cutting. Too bad more people do not take the time to learn to use them better. Dick heppnerguy

I agree as I have been there a couple of times. I have a niece that was there this year and showed me photos of Crazy Horse. The progress on it is extremely slow and I am not sure that it will ever be finished. Dick heppnerguy

That is a piece of Juniper that I brought with me from Heppner. I thought the tone of the wood was fitting for this piece. I wish I would have ran it through the planer first and thinned it out. Live and learn Dick heppnerguy

I agree with you, Marg. Shop time is never a total waste of time. Dick heppnerguy